change Books

I received this book as a gift and was very disappointed in the lack of substance. I agree with a previous post that the book really is all about being nice to others. Hardly a new message!

There are much better books out there with real substance. Save your money folks.

As a manager in a large and busy Optometric practice, I constantly look for ideas to motivate our staff. I bought a copy for all 16 employees and we spent two office meetings discussing ways to Make Our Patient's day. WOW! We have become keenly aware of the need to be "in tune" to each and every person who walks through our doors...DAILY!! Thank you to David Wagner, our new HERO. Sue Linton, Puyallup WA.

David Wagner is an idealist that believes we can change the world by making one day at a time. He shares personal Daymaking stories about his sister who passed away when she was 13, his wife, daughters, and his path to becoming a hairstylist and eventual CEO. He also shares the stories of others, inspirational quotes, and practical tips on how you can be a Daymaker.

Wagner shows how a little kindness goes a long way, and what can happen when you focus on your wild ideas and follow your dreams. He then explains that to make another's day, you must first make your own day--and outlines ways to simplify your life, de-stress, and nurture yourself. The subsequent chapters detail how to make the day of your mate, your child, your whole family, a friend, a stranger, and an entire company!

For example, when making a stranger's day, it's important to remember that you don't know the whole story. Wagner writes: "We don't know what challenges face the people we meet each day. Is the bald woman in the movie theater a skinhead, or is she battling cancer? Is the beautiful woman with the storybook marriage dealing with her husband's adultery, while battling bulimia, as Princess Diana turned out to be? Is the woman on the airplane with the crying infant going home to her own mother's funeral? Is the man in the speeding red car weaving in and out of traffic on his way to the hospital with his toddler who swallowed cleaning fluid? These are just a few reminders that situations are not always as they appear."

There are many simple, yet practical ways to be a Daymaker. Write a poem about your child when he or she is born. Leave love notes for your spouse, or make them a creation from your heart. Be a Daymaker to a teenager by complimenting them on anything positive that you can. Take a co-worker out to lunch on their birthday, learn their children's names, and bring them a small treat of coffee or tea. Foster an environment of service and Daymaking in your office and corporation; it's infectious, and will spill over to your employees and your clients.

This is my favorite story in the book: "In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less than they do now, a 10-year-old boy entered a coffee shop and sat down at a table. When the waitress put a glass of water in front of him he asked, 'How much is an ice cream sundae?'

'Fifty cents', replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. 'Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?' he inquired. By now, other people were waiting for tables and the waitress was growing impatient. 'Thirty-five cents', she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins. 'I'll have the plain ice cream', he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice dream, paid the cashier and left.

When the waitress came back to wipe down the table, she began to cry. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickles and five pennies. You see, he couldn't afford the sundae, because he needed to have enough left over to give her a tip."

I highly recommend this book to those seeking to make an impact on their immediate environment and the world--as well as those looking for a great inspirational gift that would make the day of another.

This book has really helpful advice such as " smile at strangers" or " remember birthdays". This was hardly anything new or novel, or anything that Miss Manners hasn't been teaching for years.I got this book at the library and I am soooo glad I didn't waste my money on it. The retail price was $17.00. It possibly could be a value of $5.00 The pages are filled with a lot of space. I'm sure he's a nice guy, but I really don't think it's anything we haven't heard before. It could be summed up with " be nice to others". I am actually surprised it got such good reviews by people before me!

Imagine how good you would feel knowing that you did something to make someone's day. This book is filled with simple ideas for doing just that. It is easy to read and is definitely heartwarming. The chapters are short and easy/quick to read anywhere. Bottom line: This is a very enjoyable book. I highly recommend it. In fact, I'm going to purchase two more copies right now to share with special people in my life.

This workbook really helps you get the most out of the textbook, Changed Into His Image, by Jim Berg. The workbook is set up so that you cover a chapter of the book every week. This gets you through the textbook in thirteen weeks. Each day (five days a week) you will read a few pages from the text, write down two significant statements, answer some thought-provoking questions, work on memorizing a verse, and pray for change. This resource can be used individually, with another person, or in a small group Bible study. The only warning I have is that you better be committed to doing the work if you are going to buy this book. It takes about a half hour a day.

This Book and study guide are perhaps the best Discipleship/ small group material on the market. A++++

This material is superb, Jim Berg presents Christian truths so that even the us ordinary guys can understand it. Away with the psycho mumbo jumbo, real honest basic truths are brought to light for the new and older Christian .

The two book series, Book: Changed Into His Image and Workbook: Taking Time To Change give the true Christian tools to successfully implement lasting life change by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. Once ones own life is being directed toward sanctificaton, the ability is there to begin helping other Christians begin the journey towards sanctification. Real life problems and responses to them are addressed so that the Christian can begin to see life from God's perspective rather than the individual's own situation. This book should be required reading for the new Christian as well as the older Christian. It's principles will benefit any Christian willing to take the time to implement them into his or her life.

This book is a must have for any person that values Love, Intamcy, Truth, and Liberation. One of the things that I love so much about this book is that it is not lofty and cerebral. This book is about the meat and grissel of living a "sensational" human life primarily by telling the truth. The conversation that Blanton and Walsch have penetrates some of the most devious ways we all excuse our own lying by withholding. These are the kind of conversations that I desire to have with the people in my life and this book offers a fantastic template for exactly that. If you have enjoyed Walsch's or Blanton's other books, do yourself a favor and add this one to the collection....you get the best of both their worlds.

This is a powerful book, by two courageous men about a subject we all crave and studiously avoid: honesty. Neale and Brad sometimes agree, and sometimes don't, but through their exchange we discover something more important than being right: we sit with them in an intimate demonstration of authentic dialog. These days, for many of us, life is no longer about following somebody, adopting a theology or an ism. The true teacher is the meeting, the honest open hearted inquiry into what is so. This book is not only about honesty, it demonstrates it too. You will be challenged to question your own answers.
Arjuna Ardagh
Author: Relaxing into Clear Seeing and How About Now
Founder: Living Essence Foundation.

Accessibly co-written by Neale Donald Walsch and Brad Blanton, the respective authors of the "Conversations with God" series and the "Radical Honesty" series, Honest To God: A Change Of Heart That Can Change The World is a remarkably insightful book about transforming oneself by accepting honesty and learning to care about more than just oneself or a close inner circle of friends and family. Frank, straightforward discourse reveals the deception that most people embrace and shows a way out to a clearer, more enlightened, and more compassionate strain of thought. A powerful, moving book about self-improvement and the quest to reduce human suffering in the world, Honest To God is highly recommended reading for self-help, self-improvement reading lists and reference collections.

Oh! Honest to God! A double self-referential synchronicity in the book & there is no such thing as chance!

After the page where Brad proclaimed 'The pope has been reading "Conversation with God"' & stole Neale punch line & they both were astonished that the press didn't give headlines to the new revelation from John Paul II, on July 28th 1999 (2 day from my birthday), when Paul proclaimed the experience of hell "is not a punishment inflicted by God from outside", instead put it in on page 36 of some newspaper.

There is my number, as pure miracle in shortened form, being mentioned twice, once within the page & as the page # with a difference of 100.

On the page following, the quote from the movie "Instinct" by Neale is worth restating. The main character had a would-be lawyer by the neck & kept on asking the would-be lawyer "What have you just now lost?", the would-be lawyer replied first "Control" then "Freedom" and after several attempts with threat of one last chance or his neck would be broken, the would-be lawyer finally writes "My illusions" and he was let go.

That story I declare, as an incarnation of the 6th & last Zen patriarch (plus Judas - the 13th in the last supper & Attila the Hun - known as the scourge of God by the Romans & Isoris - the Egyptian god of death, ect) is purely a modern Zen analogy.

Like Ken Keyes in his book 'Discovering the Secrets of Happiness", Brad is completely free to do unconditional honesty or transparency or love, while Neale still cannot 'let go' of his most important 0.1%, e.g. in Friendship with God, Neale chose not to be transparent about his relationship with 5 ex-wives & hiding behind the Fifth Amendment in order to protect their so-called privacy. An excuse is indeed a lie to one's self.

The same thing happened when I met Neale in early 1999 at a Natural Party's fund-raising & asked him, before the publication of FwG, "Why is the CwG series not in paperback?" Neale replied that it's in the hand of the publisher. Later he recanted by saying & wrote in my copy of CwG 3 "This book should be free". A lie to this day.

Furthermore, later on p.26 when FwG became published, God explicitly asked Neale "Why didn't you just make them (3 CwG series) available for free?" & Neale answered reluctantly with his 'own' excuses. More lies to God, nonetheless!

The CwG series became paperback by 2003 & too late to make the best-sellers list, so Harry Potter made it to further entrap our educational mass dis-illusion. So I observe that Neale, in this lifetime, is still a simple messenger (of God aka Oneness aka Alah aka Buddha aka etc, nonetheless) & not yet a master, like the few others mentioned in this review.

This book is a simple discussion between a master & a messenger. Indeed, one's own lie or truth when 'disowned' or 'let go' by facing them is simple mastery, no more excuses like taking the fifth or hiding between the veil of privacy.

The latter is exactly what Lisa hid herself behind too & in the end of the relationship after I reminded her numerous times at least not to lie anymore to others, she wanted to have a fake marriage with me in order to stay in the US for $2k. I simply asked her to give up her $100k penthouse, earned from her fake pregnancy to me, to my then girl friend. Lisa replied if I married her, the penthouse would be still joint-property, so there is no need to transfer title. Ha! How smart & materialistically addicted! 6 months after I let her out of my life.

On p.143 Werner Erhard - the father of Est & Forum - is mentioned as a brilliant mind, I experienced my first enlightenment while attending the Forum in 1996. I have read his biography of the same title & found out that Werner is certainly a modern Zen Master when he experienced enlightenment while driving on SF Golden brigde & realized he knew nothing & at that single moment understood everything. Alas! He chose like Neale not to face the consequences of his past lies & his daughter's face on. This is as best as I can tell why he chose to self-exile to Japan where I chose to meet him in 1999 in Osaka & proposed that I can help him bring a cut-down version of Forum for less into China & for him to be the 7th Zen patriarch. He chickened out.

In passing, The book's last section written after 911 was too light, both Brad & Neale were irresponsible by choosing to work within the current dictatorial & hierarchical governmental structure & simply adding more titles. They didn't think outside the box & their new age small circle. The only story enlightening there was, that of 92 year-old grand lady Doris Haddock & I thank Brad from the bottom of my heart to have chosen to go to prison for 7 hours in her place, although he was plenty rewarded by a kiss from that grand lady. So food for thought, why not get rid of the notion of national border, simply create a world leadership committee. This could include Doris or Brad & congresslady Barbara Lee - the only person both houses who voted against Bush's patriot act or Jimmy Carter & some other radically honest noble hearts.

It was inspiring and hopeful to witness honest dialogue between two committed human beings from different backgrounds, with different styles of communication, and different beliefs arrive at some simple but profound truths without compromising themselves or ideas. A model for how personal and societal transformation can occur and facilitate the much needed creation of compassionate policies, when one is willing to be honest and stay engaged beyond the discomfort created by the illusive differences that "lie on the surface". Honest dialogue is the destination.....Honest To God a map.

Do you want to know why the USA are rich and powerful and why Russia, for example, can't copy its way ? Why is export of formal institutions impossible in this world without considering ideology, mental structures and so on..
And don't even try to force others to be like you, to eat hamburgers and drive fords. We are different! and it lies beneath - in history.
It's the only positive and constructive idea that appears in ones mind when reading North. Let his theory be week and not scientific enough, let him mix neoclassics with institutional economics and history - this eclectics will do good for you as a killer of brain limits.
peace!

This book aims to explain the structure and evolution of institutions. The author, Nobel laureate Douglass North, concludes that the tension between gains from specialization and attendant costs is "the basic source of structure and change in economic history." Institutions arise to exploit the gains from division of labor or to reduce transaction costs. This theory appears to offer considerable economy and power of explanation.

North asserts that, in the prehistoric era, human population increase would lead to declining labor productivity as resources were exhausted. New technologies could increase productivity but, if property rights were nonexclusive, as they must have been in a nomadic hunter-gatherer society, new technologies would simply accelerate resource depletion. Only if a tribe or band could exclude rivals from exploiting the resource, as they could in a settled agricultural society, would the productivity gains from new technology be sustained. The advantage that agriculture offered, then, was the opportunity to establish exclusive communal property rights. This produced what North calls the first economic revolution.

The first economic revolution, occasioned by the rise of agriculture, produced the state, "the most fundamental achievement of the ancient world." The state specialized in providing security, keeping order within societies and protecting them from outside threats, while the complex demands of an agricultural economy (compared to those of a hunter-gatherer economy) required increased specialization throughout the rest of society as well. Over time, new military technologies led to larger states and more representative forms of government as rulers were forced to make concessions to their constituents to compete militarily with other rulers.

The industrial revolution, which North refers to as the second economic revolution, was largely a result of better specified and enforced property rights that raised the private returns to invention and led to an invention "industry." The industrial revolution brought tremendous gains in the standard of living but required new institutions to achieve gains from specialization without losing them to attendant transaction costs.

North notes that transaction costs would be prohibitive without a normative system that encourages compliance with contractual obligations. Accordingly, concurrent with the industrial revolution, we see a concerted effort by elites to inculcate the values of hard work, thrift, and sobriety among the working classes. In fact, North has reflected deeply on the role of ideology in an industrial society. Changes in knowledge and technology affect relative prices and thus affect perceptions of fairness. Differences in occupation or geographic location also give rise to different perceptions of how output should be distributed. "Ideological entrepreneurs" capitalize on these different perceptions. Successful ideologies must provide an explanation of history that plausibly accounts for current conditions. Ideologies must be flexible so that they can attract new adherents and accommodate changed conditions. Most importantly, to effect change, successful ideologies must overcome the free rider problem. Their ability to do so will be inversely related to the legitimacy of existing institutions.

An interesting question asked early on in the book is, why do states persistently fail to establish property rights that would permit high rates of economic growth? He explains that states first maximize returns for the ruler and then, subject to this constraint, try to reduce transaction costs throughout the economy. Where the ruler is an individual or the representative of a small elite group, the interests of rulers will not normally coincide with those of society as a whole.

Structure and Change in Economic History offers considerable insight into fundamental historical forces. It will come as no surprise to those who have read this work that North won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1993 for his use of economic theory and quantitative methods to explain economic and institutional change.

In this book North modifies the rationality assumption of neoclassical theory and puts individuals into a more complex framework of decision-making. According to my reading, this new model is characterized by an emphasis on incentive constrains (structures/institutions) and a dynamic process of learning (both individual and collective).

But here North runs into a problem with the infamous structure/agency dichotomy. That is, he means to rise above methodological individualism by incorporating a broad, deterministic social "structure" into his analysis -- "by structure I mean those characteristics of a society which we believe to be the basic determinants of performance" (3). However, he also seems to chalk a great deal of explanatory power up to individual leadership, calculation and rationality: the state specifying rules of the game to maximize rents (24) and also: "throughout history, individuals given a choice between a state-however exploitative it might be-and anarchy, have decided for the former" (24). But if there's such a powerful structure, then can individuals really "choose" their fate? How much leeway is there for strategic calculation? On page 32 he seems to say that the masses have no power to choose: "institutional innovation will always come from rulers rather than constituents since the latter would always face the free rider problem". Is North's structure (and institutions) merely an aggregation of the choices of masses of agents, or is it the strategic choices of a few ruling principals and their agents, or is it the evolution of an impersonal body of culture, ideas, law, etc., or is it all three? And if it's all three, then is he trying to incorporate too much into the concept of "institutions", until they become tautological? What CANNOT be an institution under his definition, and if everything is an institution, then how can we formulate testable, falsifiable hypotheses about social change?

North defines institutions as "the humanly devised constrains that construct human interaction" (p. 344); or, the rules of the game in a society. Thus, it is clear that North is trying to provide an explanation of the dynamic interaction among many factors, which is always a difficult task. But he is to be commended for modifying neoclassical thought in this provocative new way, potentially opening a path for a whole new research agenda in the social sciences.

Together with his more recent Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance (1990), D.C.North provides here an indispensable framework to reflect on the problems of social transformation that underlie economic growth and development. He proffers no magic wand, but he describes the long processes implied in institution building which no development theoretician or practitioner should ever ignore.

Structure and Change in Economic History is an insightful and informative book. Much of what you find here is standard Comparative Institutional analysis, as developed by Mancur Olson, Ronald Coase, and James Buchanan. North aims at understanding institutions as humanly devised structure within which we all interact. Institutions are constraints that enable us to deal with real problem: free riding, high transaction costs, coordination failures... To some extent we must understand institutions in terms of utilitarian calculations. However, we must not limit our analysis to the utilitarian calculus of welfare economics.

Institutions are founded upon ideology. Ideological change drives institutional change. The aim of ideology is to "energize groups to behave contrary to a simple hedonistic individual calculation of costs" (p53). Ideology is definitely important to understanding institutions. But New Institutional and Public Choice Economists tend to ignore ideology, in favor of explaining institutions strictly in terms of utility maximizing choice.

We can see how ideology plays out with institutions that are relatively insulated from pressure groups and voters. Life tenure for judges might enable them to rule on cases based on their worldviews, rather than narrow utilitarian considerations. We must examine the role of `intellectual entrepreneurs' who develop `contrasting worldviews'. North has the right kind of mix between the issues that economists and other academics explore. Economists are right about the need for understanding human behavior in terms of a utilitarian calculus. However, economists have often erred by ignoring factors like ideology. North makes no such mistakes.

CORPORATE AGILITY: A REVOLUTIONARY NEW MODEL FOR COMPETING IN A FLAT WORLD tells of a new business model, one that enables businesses to embrace workworld changes on a global scale. Currently most companies are unable to adapt to new methods of doing business, and become crippled by high fixed costs and new competition. CORPORATE AGILITY tells how to break this destructive cycle, offering tried methods by leaders of the Work Design Collaborative and providing a survey of value to any business library.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Finally there is a book for the Facility Manager, I.T. Guy or H.R. professional looking to prove their point. How often have we heard the words; "That may be a great idea, but what is everyone else doing?" When it comes to leading edge ideas for changing the work place and the way we work, this book provides hard data based on what some of America's top companies are doing now.

Corporate Agility gives us a look into companies such as Hewlett Packard, Sun, IBM and others. It provides detailed analysis of how they are addressing the changing work place environment. How are companies staying connected with an increasingly mobile work force? How are they integrating Gen X, Gen Y & the Millennial workers? How are they reducing costs for work space, real estate and I.T. while increasing productivity and worker satisfaction? In depth case studies provide hard data regarding how different programs impact costs savings, worker productivity and employee satisfaction.

The analysis and case studies also let you key into a network of resources to help with your projects. Furniture systems, architects, designers, real estate brokers and I.T. solutions are all discussed. The Future of Work community is a door to a nearly endless supply of thinkers and practitioners dedicated to solving today's work place issues. Regardless of the size organization you are trying to change, Corporate Agility will provide the ammunition you need to get the project designed, approved and completed.

All Real Estate organziations struggle with driving dramatic change in their organizations, whether stemming from the challenges of supporting 4 generations under a single (physical or virtual) roof, dramatically reshaping a portfolio and costs or creating a stragety that aligns with the overall business strategy -- this is THE book for you. It's written with a relevant, direct approach and loaded with practical case studies that can easily be applied to your operations.

The authors do a fantastic job connecting people, technology, and facilities. The intersection of these circles becomes the heart of the new workforce for tomorrow today. The authors offer insights that define the mobile worker; actions to serve this worker; and recommendations to manage this worker. It is an outstanding compilation of ideas with impact.

In the Introduction, Charles Grantham, James Ware, and Cory Williamson explain that they assembled a small group of thought leaders from major corporations and collaborated with them when conducting a survey among decision-makers in both labor and management "to discover how new technologies, the changing workforce, and economic globalization were changing how and where people worked, and what those changes meant to the future of work in the so-called Information Economy." The survey responses confirmed what they had only suspected previously: "most businesses had been unable, or unwilling, to adapt their traditional management styles to the new conditions." Various factors resulted in a crippling loss of corporate agility. "These Industrial-Age behemoths are often referred to as corporate dinosaurs, in an effort to describe just how slow and unwieldy they really are - to say nothing of being nearly extinct - and there may be even more truth and insight contained in that image than anyone ever intended."

Grantham, Ware, and Williamson pose an especially interesting question: How can a business evolve from being a dinosaur to a jaguar, and do so in the space of months, not millennia? In this book, they provide their response to it, what they characterize as "a collaborative, strategic approach to management that acknowledges and leverages the growing interdependence of human resources (HR), corporate real estate (CRE), and information technology (IT), a process we call collaborative strategic management." In this volume, they explain to define, develop, and then implement the CSM process, and thus achieve corporate agility. The co-authors organize and present their material within ten chapters and draw upon a collection of wide-ranging, cutting-edge ideas drawn from pilot programs, case studies, and evolving best practices established by members of the Future of Work community. (The co-authors invite you to visit www.thefutureofwork.net/index.html.)

FYI, the quoted phrase in this review's title was formulated by James O'Toole while identifying major barriers to leading change in a book that bears that name. Grantham, Ware, and Williamson have no illusions whatsoever as to the difficulty of defining, developing, and then implementing the CSM process to achieve corporate agility. They realize that many organizations cannot overcome "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom" and will not survive. These are the "dinosaurs" to which they refer. However, other organizations can become agile and thus adapt to rapid, model-shattering changes in the global economy. These are the "jaguars" to which they refer.

To me, it is especially appropriate that the process of defining, developing, and then implementing collaborative strategic management requires organizations to be actively involved in all manner of alliances and mutually beneficial partnerships between and among members of global communities such as Future of Work. This is precisely what Satish Nambisan and Mohanbir Sawhney also have in mind in Global Brain: Your Roadmap for Innovating Faster and Smarter in a Networked World. They wholeheartedly agree with Grantham, Ware, and Williamson that agility is more, much more than a highly desirable attribute; it is, in fact, a key to organizational survival. Hence the importance of this brilliant book that will be of incalculable value to those planning for or have already embarked upon the perilous and complicated but necessary process of strategically integrating the effective management of real estate, human resources, and technology assets.

And as Charles Grantham, James Ware, and Cory Williamson point out, "It does that in a collaborative fashion that requires a change in decision-making processes and styles from what most organizations rely on today. [Moreover, an agile enterprise organizes itself into three (and only three) levels that center on completion, survival, and renewal." In this context, I assume that "completion" refers to achieving the given objectives, whatever they may be. However, collaborative strategic management is a journey rather than a destination, an on-going process that must be constantly renewed with appropriate modifications. Only then can an organization sustain its agility.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat and Competing in a Flat World co-authored by Victor Fung, William Fung, and Yoram (Jerry) Wind as well as The New American Workplace co-authored by James O'Toole and Edward Lawler, O'Toole's aforementioned Leading Change, Henry Chesbrough's Open Business Models, Noel Tichy and Warren Bennis' Judgment, Richard Ogle's Smart World, Frans Johansson's The Medici Effect, James Kilts's Doing What Matters, Dean Spitzer's Transforming Performance Measurement, and Enterprise Architecture As Strategy co-authored by Jeanne W. Ross, Peter Weill, and David Robertson.

The history of UPS is a century-long story about a visionary founder, Jim Casey, who took a simple idea and made it grow, forging a global delivery, logistics and transportation network. He built an exceptional company that recognizes the critical role of its employees and the need for constant renewal. Mike Brewster and Frederick Dalzell were given complete archival access ("warts and all," they say, although the book is very positive) to create this corporate biography for the company's 100th anniversary. They cover UPS's history and development, detailing Casey's visions and methods, and showing how UPS has become a leader in global shipping and logistics. Their enjoyable, informative book is as much an industrial engineering story as it is the biography of a company that has continually reinvented itself. getAbstract recommends it to businesspeople who want to see how diligent leaders built a global company.

A really simple and interesting read. Fascinating vignettes about key turning points in UPS's history that were overcome using the company's unique approach to business issues. Good learnings for any business person, but a fun read even if you are not. The strong culture of UPS really comes through in this book. Many of the tidbits are very interesting -- the early years, the 1997 strike, the international stories. It is a real surprise to see by the end of the book what UPS has become today -- no longer just delivering packages.

If you work for eg. FedEx (I do) and are looking for strategic secrets - this is not the book. However, it still provides an excellent history and overview of an impressive company.

Readers begin by learning that UPS handles some 15 million packages/day, using 8,000 hubs, distribution centers, and package sorting facilities. Of this, about 900,000 go by air. Its founder early on decided to distinguish the firm through high standards (trucks are cleaned every night; drivers cannot smoke, are paid considerably better than average and encouraged to buy stock at a discount, and are inspected for neatness each day). Retention is further encouraged through promotion from within, and a ban on favoritism. Excellence is pushed through extensive industrial engineering and standards, benchmarking (Sears and Marshall Fields were early contributors), and a climate of continuous improvement.

An early strategic decision was to shift from providing messenger service to delivering packages from local Seattle department stores to their customers. This differentiated UPS from its competitors.

UPS tried air service early on - however, its timing was poor (just as the stock market crashed in 1929) and the venture soon folded.

UPS lost over half its volume during and shortly after WWII as an initial combination of conservation, followed by increasing auto ownership led to most department store customers taking home their own packages. UPS then strategically redirected itself to wholesale deliveries INTO the stores, using the increasing volume of highways and trucks, and taking advantage of the decline of railroad service. The "bad" news associated with this was it created considerable resistance from trucking and bus companies, as well as innumerable ICC hurdles. Thus, its 1954 goal of providing wholesale deliveries nationwide within 10 years actually took almost 30.

UPS now operates the world's 8th largest airline. This effort was restarted in 1953 via leasing space on commercial airplanes; however, it was of limited value until the operation was revamped after FedEx's 1973 entry, and combined with a hub and spoke system and increased advertising.

UPS continued to innovate by going international. Again, the expansion was not easy, impeded by cultural and regulatory problems, and inconsistent IT and culture in overseas acquired companies.

IT has been another major area of UPS innovation - again, thanks to prodding by FedEx. UPS now has the largest IBM relational database, and is the biggest user of cell phone minutes in the world. Not content with current abilities, it invests about $1 billion/year in this area, and employs 4,000 some software engineers.

Clearly its employees find much to like. Turnover among managers runs 8% (INCLUDING retirements), and 5% among drivers (again, INCLUDING retirement). The 1997 strike is largely blamed by the authors on a renegade Teamster leader whose election was since overturned and he has been banned for life from the Teamsters.

A 1999 IPO raised $5.5 billion (a record up until then).

UPS' latest initiatives focus on providing warehouse and other services - ideally, in a manner that reduces total shipping costs. Example: A typical truckload consists of 52 pallets with about 100 cases/pallet. At LTL rates, those sending 15 or more pallets pay the costs of an entire truckload. Thus, UPS can consolidate shipments and achieve shipping savings. "Martrac" is another initiative - refrigerated UPS feeder trucks carrying California fruits and vegetables move East after bringing small packages to the West Coast. "End of runway" storage at Louisville is another initiative, allowing last minute shipment to customers each evening, as well as expedited repairs, and even modification of eg. Hitachi hard drives prior to shipment.

Bottom Line: A great story about a great company!

Everything about the book, Driving Change, is meticulously done. Would you expect anything less from UPS? The jacket cover-brown and white with the UPS logo-is perfect. Then if you take away jacket, the hard back cover is also brown! Nicely done!

The book begins with an overview of the history of UPS. It explains how Jim Casey, an enterprising teenager, saw a market need in 1907 for delivering messages in his native Seattle, Washington. Casey then branded his service as cost competitive with any service in town, and his agents as dependable and hard workers. These traits would follow him as American Messenger Service turned into Merchants Parcel Service. That in turn morphed into United Parcel Service in 1919.

Beyond just history, the reader is informed how this company with the ubiquitous brown trucks is very innovative in providing better service at a more reasonable price. Before reading this book I would not have used the word "innovative" in the same sentence as UPS, yet UPS has been an industry leader in the package delivery business worldwide! My perception of UPS was challenged as the authors delved into how such a large corporation could embrace change. UPS could even miss the signals that the market was changing, as they did in the overnight delivery business and global expansion movement, but in an effort to "catch-up" could even surpass the competition.

What is the competitive edge that UPS has that other companies lack? Loyal employees who believe and enjoy the work that they do are that "secret ingredient." UPS is a company with a corporate culture like no other, although they have not been perfect. The book has done a beautiful job in explaining those lessons learned.

This book is well written, well researched, and surprisingly engaging. At the end of each chapter is a quick summary that synthesizes the major points of the chapter. I found this very helpful.

Armchair Interviews says: For anyone with an interest in organizational change, this book is a must read.

I purchased a used Chemistry textbook that is in near perfect condition. This book looked virtually brand new and was purchased at a great price.

A book that tries to be simple and at the same time rigorous. In my opinion, not succeeding to well in any of these attempts.

As one reviewer said, the book is trying to be simple. Some of the examples are so simple that they don't even test you're learning. And the more challenging examples seem to come out of nowhere. Also the organization is slightly convoluted and a little hard to follow with a full understanding. I recommend attaining another chem book to supplement this one if you must get this for a class. I personally found this book to be so confusing.

The book was written by one of my teachers here at Georgia Tech. The book went into depth on many things, but some of their explanations were confusing to me. Their organization was very weird in the way they taught the subject. I would recommend another text to go along with it if you find this one a little confusing.

After reading Chapter One I felt different. I couldn't put my finger on it but something had clicked. As I began to listen regularly to the self-hypnosis download on a daily basis I felt different again. Then my life began to change. I won't go into detail but some choices I had been pondering became very clear. And taking action was just a natural activity.

Read the book and DO the worksheets. Follow along with his instructions to read a chapter a day, listen to the download, relax and watch what happens. I've recommended this book to more friends than I can count and they say the same thing - the change just seems to happen.

Another reviewer said that it was possible to follow the directions in this book and have nothing change. I've read this book, and I find that claim to be bizarre.

In order for that to happen, for you to do the exercises in this book properly and have nothing change, you need to be so bullheaded as to actually turn your back on everything you learned and just plod on in the same, stupid direction you always took. You could do that, of course; but why bother?

Or you could just lie, and say, "Yeah, teach. Dog ate my homework. I did real good, dunno why I forgot everything." Or even, "Oh, yeah, but I already knew how to do that, prof. Want my money back."

Buy the book, and do the exercises. To paraphrase Richard Bandler: "If it didn't work, you didn't do what he said. You did the other one- the one where you ask, 'What the heck is this guy talking about?'"

This book includes NLP tools for life change that would cost hundreds of dollars to learn elsewhere.

I was led to this book at a time when I needed to makes changes to support the way I was living and to find new options. I had seen some of Paul's recent TV programmes helping people to oiverocme phobias and simialr and as I passed a book stall it `grabbed' me.

While I used to enjoy his much earlier TV shows demonstrating the power of hypnosis, or more accurately the power of the unconscious mind, I did not accredit much value to that beyond entertainment and possibly helping a few. However in the intervening years, and no doubt as a consequence of his own sometimes difficult life experiences, McKenna has matured considerably and added a deeper insight and value to his work and understanding of the nature of mind and being.

This has paved the way to helping many who chose to make profound changes to their experience of Iife. His concept and approach find great resonance with the many `teachers' throughout history with regard to how we create our reality via our beliefs. I can think for one of the famous books written by `Seth' via Jane Roberts in the 70's that describes in such beautiful detail how we create our reality individually and collectively. In short your beliefs are the master filter that lets us choose and create from all sorts of possible realities - we are not just at the mercy of some given experience but truly masters of our own experience. The trouble is most of humanity have no ideas how the process of reality creation occurs and how to impact upon it or change it.

Paul's book is a user friendly approach to this process and reading his book, and listening to the wonderful CD, are very powerful tools to make such self directed changes. If yuo believe it can work then it will, if you have an entrenched belief that this is not possible, then in keeping with the principles it won't - which just goers to show me even more that it does! Writing out ones life goals as part of one of the chapters is another very powerful tool to start to see and experience the changes you want. A 5 year plan is your own statement of focus and intention.

If we can get away for the slight apprehension around the term `hypnosis' as something that will subvert our will in favour of another's, then we can actually do an enormous amount of good to self and others using these techniques. If our intention is pure so will be out outcomes. No one argues on the benefits of electricity but that can harm if missapplied. So be careful what you ask for with these techniques for you will surely be given what you seek! Both `positive' and `negative'.

Well done McKenna for your wonderful, positive, empowering gift to help mankind when perhaps he needs more than ever to figure out how to create a more positive, loving, meaningful and enjoyable existence for himself and the world at large.

I most strongly recommend this book to those who strongly wish to make some significant changes in their life and who dare to!

Julian

I started to read this book as my close parents were divorcing, and I was feeling very disconnected from life.
Paul Mckenna's title '' Change your Life in Sever Days'' seemed at the time unreal to me.... until I read the first few pages. It helps you to discover the inner peace inside yourself with simple step by step guides. Now I am married and moved to LA from France where I was living, and seem to step over those ''bumps in the road'' with a lot more knowledge of my inner helper... my real self. Get this book! It's a wake up call to a better jouney.

This book is like every self-help book. Not in the sense that the material is the same, but it's a case of PUT IT INTO PRACTICE!
It's pretty simple - by following Paul's techniques I have found my confidence lift to great levels, I feel much better about myself, and I worry less about people's actions towards me.
About 6 months after I first read this book, I was having a hard time and found this book on my shelf and decided to read it for a second time. And low and behold!! I started doing the exercises again, and sure enough my confidence levels were raised again. It's all very well to READ these things, but if you don't take ACTION (and I mean CONSTANT action), then it's not going to work for you.
We are a society full of people looking for a quick fix - and there isn't one. MAKE AN EFFORT!! You'll be surprised what will happen!